Earlier this month, the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI) at the University of Nebraska participated in the Groundbreaking for the Future Exposition at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC).
The event offered a glimpse of the breadth of expertise Nebraska can bring to national security and health security challenges.
The strength is not in any one program or project. It is in the depth of expertise available across the University of Nebraska — and NSRI’s ability to bring the right people together around the mission.
Hosted by UNMC’s Office for Advancement of Military Medicine, Global Center for Health Security and iEXCEL with NSRI, the exposition brought together programs supporting health security, preparedness and military medicine. Across the room were capabilities in infectious disease, biocontainment, trauma readiness, medical countermeasures, emerging technologies, CBRNE preparedness and more.
NSRI contributed a display highlighting five very different examples of that expertise in action — research and capabilities brought forward through the institute with University of Nebraska researchers and federal partners to address mission needs.
- Delivering Oxygen in Austere Environments: NU researchers helped develop and test the delivery of oxygenated microbubbles (OMBs) in animal models of acute lung injury. The tiny OMBs bypass damaged lung tissue and deliver oxygen through the abdomen. The approach could help sustain oxygen levels until advanced respiratory care is available.
- Real-Time Gait Intelligence for Soldier Readiness: This study, combined with other efforts, has allowed biomechanics researchers at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, in partnership with NSRI and the U.S. Army Soldier Center, to advance the Army’s next-generation Soldier Readiness Toolkit. They have demonstrated that wearable sensors combined with advanced analytics can capture subtle gait and stability changes during demanding mission tasks.
- Prophylactic Treatment for Acute Radiation Syndrome: University of Nebraska and NSRI research teams with the Defense Health Agency and Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute have advanced one of the nation’s most mature acute radiation syndrome medical countermeasure development programs.
- Aircraft Airflow Testing to Combat COVID-19: Air Mobility Command, NSRI, UNMC and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency executed biological aerosol airflow tests on six aircraft — in just seven days in April 2020. NSRI’s rapid response and deliverables assured the DOW that the U.S. could safely transport its warfighters home during the pandemic.
- Real-World Operations & Training for CBRNE Response: NSRI designs realistic, multidisciplinary training and exercises that prepare government agencies, law enforcement, public health personnel and first responders to prevent and respond to CBRNE incidents. Since 2016, responders from 150 federal agencies have completed 6,000 NSRI training experiences built around authentic scenarios that reproduce evolving threats and challenges responders could encounter in the field.
Different problems. Different disciplines. One research enterprise with tremendous capacity to address complex federal mission needs.
As the Department of War-designated University Affiliated Research Center sponsored by U.S. Strategic Command and affiliated with the University of Nebraska System, NSRI helps connect this broad academic and scientific expertise to national security challenges.
Learn more about the exposition and participating programs at unmc.edu/healthsecurity/news/gchs-events/gchs-expo-2026.html
